Upcoming Omaha REIA Event Offers Guide to Real Estate, Legislation
Real estate investors face some common misconceptions.
“When people think about investors, they think they’re all super rich,” said Ted Kaasch Jr., managing director of the Omaha Real Estate Investors Association. “The majority have less than three properties. A lot of people can’t afford to cover multiple mortgages.”
Omaha REIA is set up to help those investors and provides support to everyone, from beginners to those more experienced investors in the real estate market.
The organization provides education and networking opportunities for real estate investors, including a regular meetup on the first Tuesday of the month. Members of Omaha REIA, as well as non-members, are also invited to participate in networking events including real estate focused luncheons that are held on the third Friday of the month.
Kaasch said the main group for the Tuesday meetings averages 120 people, while the networking luncheons draw about 30 people.
“I’ve been told by the national REIA organization that we are the fastest growing REIA in the country this year,” Kaasch said. “I bought this company one and a half years ago. Membership was at 74 and grew to over 300 paid memberships now.”
There’s never been a better time to get involved in Omaha REIA, especially with the upcoming April 5th event that features national real estate expert Charles Tassell.
Tassell is the chief operating officer of National REIA. He will be speaking on real estate investment and legislation affecting it.
Tassell told The Daily Record he encourages anyone interested in national trends and how Omaha fits into them to come out for the educational session.
“This is one where they can get some insights into what is going on nationally and with national trends and find out how they can affect their trends locally,” Tassell said. “We are seeing a better situation in Omaha than other markets. The West/Midwest situation is good without being in a bubble.”
That’s not true of every market, Tassell said, where bubbles may be forming in real estate.
“States are varying from those that are locked down and those who are not, and the business impact is becoming more and more dramatic in those areas,” he said.
Tassell said he personally deals with single family homes, as well as duplexes and strip malls. He said that since the pandemic started, office space is something that has faced unique challenges.
Some workers are perfectly happy to work from home, and if they stay there, less commercial retail will be able to be supported by office complexes.
“Beyond the single family housing, ‘location, location, location’ is still important,” Tassell said. “It is about how much vacant space do we have and is there a surplus of retail — which retail is to stay and which one is to go.”
For example, Tassell said, an anchor store closing in a strip mall can bring a big change.
“Some of it was consolidation occurring before the pandemic,” Tassell said. “But it was amplified by it.”
Kaasch said he encourages folks to come out for the April 5th presentation, which has doors open at 6 p.m. and runs 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Downtown Omaha, 1420 Cuming St.
“Anyone that’s interested in real estate investing and this will hit home for those who have properties already,” Kaasch said. “Maybe they’re concerned about what is happening in politics that will affect their rental properties.”
Registration is free for Omaha REIA members and $20 for nonmembers.
Register at omahareia.com/events/?EventId=4330.
Beyond sessions like Tassell’s, Omaha REIA offers a variety of benefits for its members, including access to a members-exclusive Facebook group and special events.
Omaha REIA also has a public Facebook group — available at
facebook.com/groups/OmahaREIA — for its broader professional network across the metro area.
The organization also offers a podcast where members are interviewed by Kaasch and Owen Dashner, a self-described “real estate addict” with a few hundred rental properties himself and is one of the most popular people on the website called Bigger Pockets.
“We broke 3,100 downloads on the 18th or 19th podcast. That’s been huge for us,” Kaasch said. “There’s a very strong real estate community here. Our group represents 20,000 rental doors.”
Kaasch said the podcast brings people that investors look up to, and he praised his co-host’s reputation in Omaha and beyond.
“When I was thinking about who to interview to make the podcast go national, it was Owen,” Kaasch said. “We have been able to create something that has been really good.”
Membership in Omaha REIA is $100 a year for an individual, with discounts for up to four people on a shared membership. National REIA offers savings discounts that can help offset those dues, such as a rebate through Home Depot’s Pro Xtra program, a discount at 1-800-GOT-JUNK and a variety of real estate specific partnerships.
Local sponsors of Omaha REIA, which includes The Daily Record, offer special discounts to members, too. Any business that is interested in becoming a sponsor can reach out to Kaasch or can review an online marketing kit.
For more information on Omaha REIA, visit omahareia.com. You can also call 402-990-9976 or send an email to info@omahareia.com.
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